Period Pieces Coast Through Tony Awards Spring Awakening, Coast of Utopia make history at theater honors By Greg Atwan Posted Jun 11, 2007 8:38 AM CDT Copied Michael Mayer, director of "Spring Awakening," poses backstage with his Tony for Best Director of a Musical at the 61st Annual Tony Awards in New York, Sunday, June 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen) (Associated Press) The Coast of Utopia, Tom Stoppard’s marathon glance back at 19th-century Russia, became czar of the Tonys at last night's 61st annual ceremony in New York. The $7-million, 8-hour epic claimed more statuettes than any drama in history—including honors for best play and director—in a year when Broadway attendance smashed records. Spring Awakening, a musical about sex-crazed teens in the same epoch in Germany, won big in its category, taking home eight awards including musical and book; the voters snubbed the more profitable revival of A Chorus Line. The best actress in a play trophy made for the most drama, with Julie White of The Dog that Laughed beating out legends Vanessa Redgrave and Angela Lansbury. Read These Next Minneapolis shooter had a plan—and grievances. American Taylor Townsend gets an earful after her US Open win. The Air Force has changed its tune on Ashli Babbitt. Open that wallet big time for a trip to Disney, if you can afford it. Report an error